High lethality shrapnel projectile

ABSTRACT

A projectile or fragment for use in many warhead techniques, as well as gun, target and dispenser deployment having a composite structure and being either of a hollow spherical, hollow cylindrical or solid cylindrical configuration in order to achieve superior lethality and/or lethal efficiency.

o a 9 I v mte States Patet 11 1 1111 3,865,036 Davis 1 Feb. 11, 1975 1 HIGH LETHALITY SHRAPNEL 711,209 10/1902 11111 102/92.4

TI 1,305,967 6/1919 Hanks PROJEC LE 2,482,132. 10/1949 Studler et a1. 102/52 [75] Inventor: Dale M. Davis, Freeport, Fla.

73 T FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 Assgnee' he Um'ed States Amen as 435,021 2/1912 France 102/92.3 repfesemed by 1' Secretary the 23,459 7/1912 Great Britai 102/92.4 For, 10,991 5/1914 Great Britain... 102/52 Washington, 953,557 3/1964 Great Britain 102/923 [22] Filed: Dec. 8, 1967 Primary Examine'rVerlin R. Pendegrass [21] Appl 690714 Attorney, Agent, or FirmHarry A. Herbert, .lr.;

Jacob N. Erlich [52] US. Cl. 102/67 [51] Int. Cl. F42b 13/18 57 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search l02/92.1-92.4, A projedme or fragment for use in many warhead 102/52, 67, 42 technlques, as well as gun, target and d1spenser deployment having a composite structure and being ei- [56] References Clted ther of a hollow spherical, hollow cylindrical or solid UNITED STATES PATENTS cylindrical configuration in order to achieve superior 137,491 4/1873 Senn 102/67 lethality and/0r lethal efficiency. 603,525 5/1898 Darmancier.... 102/67 631,702 8/1899 Dunn 102/922 4 ClaIms, 4 Drawmg Flgures 1 HIGH LETHALITY SHRAPNEL PROJECTILE This invention relates generallyto warheads or shells and, more particularly, to hollow, spherical-shaped fragments, hollow cylindrical-shaped fragments and composite fragments used as the lethal agents in warhead techniques as well as gun, target and dispenser deployment.

The fragmentation" type warhead or modern shrapnel is generally a projectile designed to carry a large number of shot or fragments to a distance from the gun or other firing device and there, discharge these shot or fragments over an extended area.

in shrapnel, it is desirable to make the walls of the projectile or shell as thin as possible in order to increase the number of shot or fragments that may be carried thereby. The longitudinal pressure of the contained shot or fragments is borne by the base of the'projectile, and the walls sustain only the pressure due to the centrifugal force and that proceeding from the weight of the head and fuze.

The destructive effect of this type of projectile isobtained largely through a scattering of the fragments or shot at high velocity. It is effective against personnel, animals, and material targets, such as motor transport, airplanes, space vehicles, etc.

In an effort to improve the efficiency of fragmentation type warheads, one of the first approaches is to improve the lethality of the fragment.

it is therefore the primary object of this invention t provide a projectile, fragment or shot which is of superior lethality.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hollow spherical or hollow cylindrical projectile, fragment or shot of superior lethality.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a composite hollow cylindrical or hollow spherical projectile, fragment or shot of superior lethality.

It is another object of this invention to provide a composite solid projectile, fragment or shot of superior lethality.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a projectile, fragment or shot which is economical to produce and which utilizes conventional, currently available components that lend themselves to standard mass production manufacturing techniques.

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with other and further objects, thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a common, conventional shrapnel with one type of fragment or shot of the present invention enclosed therein;

FIG. 2 is an illustrative view of the solid, composite projectile or fragment of this invention about to penetrate a multiple plate target;

FIG. 3 is another form of the projectile or fragment of this invention; and

FIG. 4 is still another form of the projectile or fragment of this invention.

Although, not forming any part of the instant invention, a common shrapnel for a division field gun will be hereinafter described. This conventional shrapnel 10 is typical of the type of shrapnel which may be used with the instant invention. It should be fully underis a tube of suitable material such as drawn-steel with a solid base 12. A diaphragm 14 supported by a shoulder, closesthe base cavity for the bursting charge of black powder 25. The cavity 22 above the diaphragm 14 is filled with shot or fragments 16 composed of any suitable material such as lead or antimonyor it may be filled with the fragments or projectiles of the instant invention which are hereinafter described. The shot or fragments 16 are held in place by a matrix 18 of any suitable material such as resin. The ogival head 20, closing the forward end of the cavity 22 is fastened to the body by any suitable fastening means. The combination fuze 24 (time and percussion) is secured to head 20 by a suitable securing means. The fuze 24 is further connected with the base charge 25 by a central tube (not shown) extending through the head 20 and dia phragm 14.

When the firing means (not shown) is discharged, the shock of discharge arms a fuze and ignites a time train (not shown). This train can be adjusted to burn for a desired number of seconds, and is set to explode when the shrapnel 10 has reached some predetermined point above and in front of the target. After the specified number of seconds, the time train ignites the magazine charge in the combination fuze 24 and the flame passes down the tube (not shown) to the base charge 25 of the shrapnel 10. The explosion of the base charge 25 does not rupture the case but ejects the diaphragm 14, shot or fragments 16, head 20 and fuze 24. The shot or fragments 16 are projected forward with an increased velocity;- and, because of the rotation of the shrapnel, they are dispersed also to the right and left. Their paths form a cone of dispersion about the prolongation of the trajectory.

It is again emphasized that the above description of a conventional shrapnel is only an example of one type of ordnance device with which the projectile, shot or fragment of the instant invention may be used. The projectile, shot or fragment which constitutes this invention may be also used with many other types of warhead techniques as well as gun, target and dispenser deployment.

There is a dearth of understanding as to the mechanics of penetrating a plurality of spaced plates by hypervelocity impact. In accordance with this invention, it has been discovered that a projectile is shattered into small bits upon impact with the first obstruction or plate so that the spray proceeding beyond the first plate dispenses the available energy over a large area, reducing lethality.

It has been further found that an ideal solution to the defeat of multiple plate targets would be to impact the skin or first plate with a minimum particle required to penetrate, thereby creating a hole through which to send succeeding projectiles. This would require two or more projectiles to travel along the same relative velocity vector, a rather improbable condition.

The inventive concept disclosed herein provides a novel and unobvious solution to this improbability and is shown more clearly in FIG. 2.

Let us assume a target 27 comprises of a first obstacle or skin 26, a second supporting structure 28 and a third, or primary target 30 consisting of a vulnerable component.

In accordance with this invention, it has been discovered that a solid, composite projectile or fragment 32 of cylindrical configuration (shown in FIG. 2) is extremely effective against such a multiple plate target 27. The solid, composite projectile or fragment 32 comprises a first penetrator 34, a first shock attenuating layer 36 of suitable material, a second penetrator 38 followed by a second shock attenuating layer 40 and a third penetrator or lethal particle 42. The first penetrator 34 must be made of suitable material of sufficient strength to penetrate the first obstacle or skin 26. The second penetrator 38 must be of suitable material, such to be of the optimum mass to penetrate the secondary structure 28, and the third penetrator or lethal particle 42 must be of sufficient strength to penetrate the primary target 30. The materials found to be satisfactory for penetrators are copper, nickel, steel or other such dense materials. The shock attenuators 36 and 40 must be fabricated of suitable material such as polyethylene and polycarbonate or of other tough plastics, rubber or other materials of significantly lower density than the penetrators so as to protect each subsequent penetrator. These attenuators are secured to adjacent penetrators by a suitable securing means 41, such as epoxy resin or other commercial adhesive such as Eastman 910. The above illustration should not be construed to limit this invention to merely three penetrators and two attenuators since any suitable number of penetrators and attenuators may be used.

In practice, this solid, composite projectile or fragment 32 may be substituted for fragments 16 to form part of the shrapnel described hereinabove and shown in FIG. 1. The composite projectile or fragment 32, which replaces the fragment 16 shown in FIG. 1, is discharged upon actuation of the base charge 25. It should be noted, however, that the use of this composite projectile or fragment 32 is not limited to use within the conventional shrapnel but may be used in other warhead techniques as well as gun, target and dispenser deployment.

Merely for purposes of illustration, the operation of the composite projectile or fragment 32 will be described in conjunction with the shrapnel 10 shown in FIG. 1. Again it is to be emphasized that the composite projectile or fragment 32 is not to be limited to the above use and is capable of performing in many other warhead techniques as well as gun, target and dispenser deployment.

After the shrapnel 10 has reached some predetermined point above and in front of a target such as target 27 shown in FIG. 2, the base charge 25 of the shrapnel 10 is exploded in the manner described hereinabove. This explosion ejects the diaphragm l4, projectile fragment 32, head and fuze 24. Referring now to FIG. 2, the composite projectile or fragment 32 approaches the target skin 26 at some hypervelocity V, and upon striking the skin 26 penetrates or at least perforates the skin 26. The first shock attenuating layer 36 would, along with the first penetrator 34, be pulverized and dissipated either as face jet and/or back spall." The second penetrator 38, second attenuator 40, and third penetrator or lethal particle 42, would then proceed, undamaged through the hole 39 in the skin 26 and on towards the secondary structure 28 at V AV,. (If the attenuator is ideal AV, O.) A similar situation,

as above, would of course occur upon impact with secondary structure 28, leaving the third penetrator 0r lethal particle 42 intact to impact the primary target 30 at V AV, AV

In the case of thin-skinned structures, it has been found that the lethal fragment hereinafter described will have the basic geometry of a hollow, composite spherical shell 44 (shown in H6. 3). This hollow, composite spherical shell 44 is applicable to many warhead techniques such as the shrapnel described hereinabove, as well as gun, target and dispenser deployment.

No specific ratio of inside diameter 46 to outside diameter 48 is defined herein since this ratio should be selected to be optimum for the target material and configuration, the projectile material and the impact velocity. Furthermore, no specific material for the hollow, composite spherical shell 44 is described since any suitable material may be used as penetrators 43, 47 and 51 and shock attenuators 45 and 49. In many instances it may be found to be more desirable and economical to replace composite shell 44 with a singular hollow shell (not shown). Also, just as in the case of solid, composite projectile 32, the number of penetrators and attenuators may vary in accordance with the target to be penetrated.

The use of a hollow sphere as a warhead lethal fragment produces superior lethality (capable to inflict damage) and/or lethal efficiency (unit damage per unit mass) in the following typical, but not exclusive situations:

1. A large sphere of large inside diameter to outside diameter ratio is useful for cutting large holes in thin-skinned structures. The efficiency here is much greater than that ofa solid sphere of the same diameter and the lethality much greater than a solid sphere of the same mass. Typical applications might be to use items similar to ping-pong balls to defeat a manned space capsule, or rocket fuel tanks.

2. Against somewhat thicker targets a hollow sphere of dense material such as metal is efficient. Such a hollow sphere has been found to produce a larger hole than any other non-oriented fragment of equivalent mass.

3. A hollow sphere has been found to be the most effective non-oriented fragment in defeating meteor bumpers and spaced armor at low obliquities. For any configuration of spaced armor or bumpers, an optimum hollow sphere can be selected which will defeat the bumper plate, and while so doing form a jet from a portion of the front half of the sphere (in a manner similar to the action of a lined cavity or shaped charge). The jet will continue on to do superior penetration damage to the vehiclebeyond the bumper plate. Typical application would be for the defeat of armored or meteorprotected satellites which are relatively invulnerable to impact of other non-oriented fragments.

The operation of the hollow, composite spherical shell 44 shown in FIG. 3, is substantially identical to the operation of the solid, composite projectile 32, shown in FIG. 2, and described hereinabove. Furthermore, just as projectile 32, hollow shell 44 may replace the shot or fragments 16 of shrapnel 10, or it may be used in various other warhead techniques as well as in gun, target and dispenser deployment.

It has further been found that all other factors remaining constant the depth of penetration of a particle impacting at hypervelocity is proportional to its dimenof penetration since the dimension along its line of 5 flight is greater than that of a sphere.

in accordance with the inventive concept disclosed herein, it has been discovered that lethality has been improved by using a hollow cylinder rather than a solid cylinder.

Referring to FIG. 4, we see the hollow, composite cylinder 50 of this invention. Although shown as being of a composite structure, cylinder 50 may be fabricated of a one-piece hollow cylinder. Hollow, composite cylinder 50 comprises a composite, cylindrical shell having an inside diameter 52 and an outside diameter 54. No specific ratio of inside diameter 52 to outside diameter 54 is given since this ratio should be selected to be optimum for the target material and configuration, the projectile material and impact velocity. Furthermore, penetrators 55, 59 and 63 and shock attenuators 57 and 61 of the composite shell of cylinder 50 may be fabricated of any suitable material.

The operation of the hollow composite cylinder 50 is similar to the operation of the solid composite projectile or fragment 32 and the hollow composite spherical shell '44 described hereinabove.

It may be used in conjunction with the shrapnel shown in FIG. 1 by replacing fragments or shot 16 with hollow cylinders 50. However, this is not to be construed as a limitation upon its use and the hollow cylinder 50 may, in the same manner as the composite projectile or fragment 32 or the hollow cylindrical shell 44, be used in many other warhead techniques as well as in gun, target and dispenser deployment.

Although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the invention is capable of a variety of alternative embodiments within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. ln a shrapnel having tubular sides, a solid base, a cavity containing projectiles and an ogival head. the improvement therein comprising a projectile having a first penetrating layer of dense material, a first attenuating layer of material less dense than said first penetrating layer of material having one surface therof fixedly secured by an adhesive to one surface of said first penetrating layer, a second penetrating layer of material at least as dense as said first penetrating layer having one surface thereof fixedly secured by an adhesive to the other surface of said first attenuating layer, a second attenuating layer of material less dense than said first penetrating layer having one surface thereof fixedly secured by an adhesive to the other surface of said second penetrating layer and a third penetrating layer of material at least as dense as said second penetrating layer having one surface thereof fixedly secured by an adhesive to the other surface of said second attenuating layer, whereby the penetrating layers of material pulverize in sequence upon striking a multiple plate target.

2. In a shrapnel as defined in claim 1, wherein the improvement therein further comprises each said penetrating layers having a hollow cylindrical configuration.

3. in a shrapnel as defined in claim 1, wherein the improvement therein further comprises each said penetrating layers having a hollow spherical configuration.

4. In a shrapnel as defined in claim 1 wherein said first penetrating layer of material is steel, said first attenuating layer is rubber and said adhesive is an epoxy resin. 

1. In a shrapnel having tubular sides, a solid base, a cavity containing projectiles and an ogival head, the improvement therein comprising a projectile having a first penetrating layer of dense material, a first attenuating layer of material less dense than said first penetrating layer of material having one surface therof fixedly secured by an adhesive to one surface of said first penetrating layer, a second penetrating layer of material at least as dense as said first penetrating layer having one surface thereof fixedly secured by an adhesive to the other surface of said first attenuating layer, a second attenuating layer of material less dense than said first penetrating layer having one surface thereof fixedly secured by an adhesive to the other surface of said second penetrating layer and a third penetrating layer of material at least as dense as said second penetrating layer having one surface thereof fixedly secured by an adhesive to the other surface of said second attenuating layer, whereby the penetrating layers of material pulverize in sequence upon striking a multiple plate target.
 2. In a shrapnel as defined in claim 1, wherein the improvement therein further comprises each said penetrating layers having a hollow cylindrical configuration.
 3. In a shrapnel as defined in claim 1, wherein the improvement therein further comprises each said penetrating layers having a hollow spherical configuration.
 4. In a shrapnel as defined in claim 1 wherein said first penetrating layer of material is steel, said first attenuating layer is rubber and said adhesive is an epoxy resin. 